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Clematis montana rubens

jackiegent1966iylxU5N1jackiegent1966iylxU5N1 Posts: 7
in Problem solving
My montana is 3yrs old and has flowered beautifully,  last Yr the display was out of this world . This Yr ( and its now early April) there's hardly any leaves appearing and no signs of any buds ...I'm gutted ! What can I do ? 😫
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  • Butterfly66Butterfly66 Posts: 970
    Might be worth checking the main stem. We lost three to clematis slime flux, like you couldn’t understand the lack of growth until we checked lower down and the stems were damaged with flux https://www.rhs.org.uk/disease/clematis-slime-flux

    Will have my fingers crossed that yours is just been slow to get going 🙄
     If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero
    East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
  • jackiegent1966iylxU5N1jackiegent1966iylxU5N1 Posts: 7
    This is what its like ...ive bent the stems and they didnt break so im hopeful 🙄just thinking it wont flower this year . 
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    Mine is like that too. There have already been people here in another thread asking the same thing. We'll just have to wait and see, first a drought then a cold winter.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • Songbird-2Songbird-2 Posts: 2,349
    edited April 2023
    I can see some new green growth at the lower end/bottom  of the picture. Have  you pruned it since it last flowered? I have a clematis montana which was damaged when we put up a new arbor, so we then dug it out, potted it on and then planted it out again the garden in a different spot. Like yours, it has some new growth so there's hope yet. Give it a little more time.
  • The Bird LadyThe Bird Lady Posts: 225
    I'm on the south coast and my Montana is absolutely full of buds.  We have no idea how old this plant is, it was here and already huge when we moved in 21 years ago and the main stem is more like a tree trunk.  It grows out of our garden and up through the trees that are in the field that backs onto us, I've never pruned it, nor watered it - it just does its own thing and can only be described as spectacular. Photos are of last year.
  • borgadrborgadr Posts: 718
    My clematis montana are very slow into leaf this year as well. I'm wondering if last year's drought might have something to do with it.
  • jackiegent1966iylxU5N1jackiegent1966iylxU5N1 Posts: 7
    Yes that had crossed my mind . Shall I leave it alone this year and just keep my fingers crossed? Thank-you for your comment 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    They wouldn't normally be showing much growth yet here at this time of year, so it'll also depend where you are @jackiegent1966iylxU5N1 .
    If well established, they can certainly cope with much drier conditions [as with all Group 1s] but if you had that drought last summer that some areas had, and with the changeable weather over winter, it may well just be a bit late. My alpina is the same - started growing earlier than normal, but ended up flowering slightly later than normal. 

    Just wait and see, and hopefully that's all it is  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • ERICS MUMERICS MUM Posts: 627
    edited April 2023
    Most clematis sprout from underground so I’d be patient but keep an eye at soil level for new shoots popping through over the next few weeks.
  • parrotfeather*parrotfeather* Posts: 188
    In my experience Clematis montana is pretty tough and would be difficult to kill.  I think it is just a question of waiting to see what happens.  Even if the top growth is dead it would, I think, make an effort to grow again from the base.
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